Embodiments of the present invention relate generally to methods and systems for three-dimensional modeling and more particularly to generating a color-textured three-dimensional dental model that is specific to a patient.
Dentists frequently use study models for diagnosis, treatment planning, or device fabrication. The study model, sometimes called a stone model, is created by pouring plaster material into a dental impression taken from the patient. For computerized treatment planning or device manufacturing, a three-dimensional computer model of the study model can be generated. The three-dimensional model is created based on a three-dimensional scan of the stone model using various scanning techniques including laser scanning, destructive scanning, or CT scanning. The three-dimensional model is then displayed as a three-dimensional rendering with a shaded surface with a white color. Sometime, the gingival area, i.e., the gum area, is colored to a uniform fresh tone and then displayed. For more sophisticated models, each tooth is separated and the gingival soft tissue is represented by a flexible model.
However, such models are not patient specific. That is, the model is based on a generic colorization of the teeth and gingival area. For example, the teeth are usually represented in a white color and the gingival area of the model is colored a uniform fresh tone. This kind of model may accurately represent the geometric shape of the patient's dentition but it does not visually resemble the patient's dentition in terms of color and other details. For example, since such patient dentition models use the same color tone for all of the teeth and the same color across the gingival areas, they do not accurately represent such features as the patient's actual tooth color, cavities, filings, caps, crowns, and other devices. Rather, these features are colored and textured in a uniform manner that obscures such details. Hence, there is a need for improved methods and systems for generating a color-textured three-dimensional dental model that is specific to a patient.